>> brian wilson never shaved that. >> thanks for joining us. >> good night. what happened that set off a gunman at l.a.x.? tonight, what we have learned about the suspect, the victims and the moment of crisis at the airport. final hours. in a pair of closely watched elections for governor, both could have big implications on the next race for the white house. the scandal surrounding a legendary nfl franchise. allegations of bullying so bad that a big man has gone public with with a big story. and caught on camera. jumping for their lives. two planeloads full of people survive a mid-air collision that could have killed them all. they made it out safely by jumping out. "nightly news" begins now. good evening.

because it has to do in part with the safety of public places and the safety of the flying public after this nation's latest shooting incident, inside the terminal at l.a.x. officials have been scrambling to find out more about the suspect, his possible motivations and messages before the day arrived. we get the very latest on this ongoing investigation tonight from nbc's miguel almaguer at l.a.x. miguel, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening. this is where it all began. the gunman entered this very terminal and began to open fire behind me. he then proceeded up the escalator to continue his rampage. tonight, new insight on the suspect and the investigation. the alleged shooter 23-year-old paul ciancia has been unable to communicate with investigators. shot in the face, his condition is said to be improving. today the fbi expanded the search for clues to a motive. >> whatever they took out seemed to be whatever belonged

to him. they just had boxes of stuff. >> reporter: ciancia lived in california for the last 18 months. he bought two guns from this target range and later a rifle. his former roommate knew little about the unemployed motorcycle mechanic. >> he was a real nice guy. a bit loner, introverted, but nothing that i would ever, ever expect him to do something like this. >> reporter: at l.a.x. this morning it was business as usual. a far cry from friday. >> be advised. shooting occurring at the terminal. >> reporter: law enforcement sources say ciancia carried a signed letter that read he wanted to kill as many tsa officers as he could. black, white, yellow, brown. i don't discriminate. now the union representing tsa officers says some should be armed. >> the responsibility for protecting airport security is not a tsa function but something we need to certainly examine given what happened in los angeles. >> reporter: gerardo hernandez

was the first tsa officer to die in the line of duty, seen here on the job last december. officers james spear and tony grigsby were shot and released from the hospital. bryan mudrykmer, a high school teacher, was shot in the leg. >> he said he was grateful to be alive. he was hit, went down, turned around and saw the gunman face to face. >> reporter: in new jersey where ciancia grew up and attended private school, his father heard of the shooting on television. through an attorney, his family spoke today. >> it is most important for us as a family to express our deep and sincere sympathy to the hernandez family. >> reporter: ciancia was said to be dropped off at l.a.x. by an unsuspecting roommate. it's al believe -- also believed he sent text messages to his brother and sister before the shooting saying he wanted to die. the police did conduct a welfare check at his home in the los angeles area.

it, though, was an hour after the shooting. >> miguel almaguer starting us off from l.a.x. tonight. thanks. the white house tonight says they have made a lot of progress over this past weekend fixing the obama care website, but the sign-up page which has been plagued with problems from the start will go offline now every day from 1:00 to 5:00 in the morning eastern time while that so-called tech surge team works to get it right. also tonight, it's becoming clear the problems with the website cannot be avoided by applying in phone or in person as the president has been suggesting. more tonight from nbc news's peter alexander. >> reporter: in miami today christina is one of thousands of navigators helping americans sign up for health insurance off line. >> in the beginning it was working, but with the glitches. now it's just down. now the paper application is what we are doing. >> reporter: that's what president obama has urged consumers to do -- bypass the website and apply for insurance

the old fashioned way like he did again tonight. >> they can apply by phone, by mail, in person. there was a time when the internet didn't exist. >> reporter: but internal president obama administration memos showed that won't solve the problem. because the same portal is used to determine eligibility no matter how the application is submitted, paper or online. one memo says the paper applications allow people to feel they are moving forward in the process and provides another option. at the end of the day, we are all stuck in the same queue. today the white house insisted frustrated consumers can turn to navigators to complete applications for them. >> we never said the end point of the process wouldn't have to go through healthcare.gov. >> reporter: that means your personal information has to maneuver a complex online maze. first the website must be accessed. then all personal data has to be registered and verified. next the system must determine eligibility for government subsidies. that information lets consumers shop for a plan.

when you finally choose a policy, all that data must be translated into a different format that the insurance companies can read. >> this program will crumble if you don't find ways to deal with the fundamental challenges right now. >> reporter: tonight even democratic allies are calling for a time-out. >> shutting the program down for 60, 90, 120 days. i would rather see that and the political fallout we may endure from that than a program that limps along over the next several months. >> reporter: health policy experts say the enrollment information sent to insurance companies is still badly flawed. as for the internal memos about applying offline, tonight an administration official says they are notes, not official meeting minutes and they are several weeks before they say the significant progress was made with the website. >> peter, thanks. barack obama was elected president five years ago today. tomorrow happens to be election day 2013. in the two big governors races

on the ballot tomorrow, the sub text is the race for the white house the next time around. our political director, chief white house correspondent is live for us tonight from vfw post 3401 in morris plains, new jersey. chuck todd, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. normally these off-year elections are a signal about how the party in power is doing. but this year it's different. these governor races in virginia and new jersey are going to have some ramifications. but it is about a presidential campaign in 2016. in new jersey, republican chris christie is running for re-election as governor. but many of the supporters have their eye on a bigger prize. how many are excited about chris christie running for president? two hands? >> i'm so excited. he's wonderful. i think he'd make a great president. i want to be there. >> hey, everybody. >> reporter: in just a three hour drive to the south in swing state virginia reveals another high-profile governors race

where presidential politics is lurking in the background. a test of hillary clinton's clout. terry mcauliffe, a friend of the clintons is favored to be the next governor. >> terry has always been there for me. i'm pleased to be here for him. >> reporter: the clintons together have made ten appearances on behalf of mcauliffe using virginia as a testing ground for staffers, tactics, and message. back in new jersey, chris christie's opponent barbara beau -- buono tried to make his presidential ambition an issue. >> he wants to be president. i want to be your governor. >> reporter: but christie tried to joke about it. >> are you warm? >> you know, it feels like good new jersey november weather. >> reporter: yet the national scrutiny has begun. a new book says mitt romney passed over christie as his running mate in part because of the governor's past wall street ties. christie's bus stopped at diners and vfw halls where he's criticized washington and

distanced himself from the tea party. >> you watch this craze siness washington, d.c. where these people don't to do anything but yell and scream at each other. they don't work with each other, talk to each other. in new jersey we haven't let that happen. >> reporter: christie wants to win big and prove he has a diverse group of supporters that's elusive for national republicans. there is another trend beyond presidential politics, brian. if you look at this sign here, there's a word you cannot find. it's the word republican. in virginia, good luck finding the word democrat on terry mcauliffe's signs. party politics, bad news. >> chuck todd covering the race across the river in new jersey tonight. chuck, thanks. overseas, the turmoil in egypt continues. egyptians have now watched as their second president in three years is now being held in a kind of cage stockade and is now on trial. today we got our first glimpse of mohamed morsi at all since he

was forced out by the military in july. it was a strange day in the courtroom there. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel was there and is with us from cairo. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. it was a strange one. as soon as mohamed morsi entered the courtroom and locked in this holding cell, he starts to shout. denouncing the court, the judge, calling the proceedings illegitimate saying he's the victim of a coup. as the judge is banging the gavel, a group of journalists, pro-regime journalists, a group of pro-coup journalists stand up on chairs, take their shoes off. i thought one would throw it at morsi. they start shouting "death, death, death," saying they wanted morsi sentenced to death. this shows how divided and raw politics are in this country. you think politics are divided in the u.s. >> all right. richard engel with the latest in politics in cairo tonight. and the second trial. richard, thanks. gas prices are in the news tonight in this country.

the national average of a gallon is now $3.25 a gallon, lowest level of the year. experts predict it will continue to fall. close to $3 a gallon. drivers in at least 35 states are already seeing $3 a gallon gas in some areas. that's because the price of oil is now down below $100 a barrel. currently at $94. still falling thanks, in part, to the current natural gas boom which has of course come with environmental controversy. the idea of being bullied in the context of the nfl was tough for a lot of people to understand at first. how it could happen in such a highly charged atmosphere where just making the team tends to reward the very toughest. but a story is emerging from the miami dolphins about a young player and fear, intimidation, race and in part an ongoing football tradition. our report tonight from nbc's kerry sanders in miami.

>> reporter: miami dolphins offensive tackle jonathan martin is 6'5", 312. a player who can withstand a defensive rush, but off the field a source in close contact with martin tells nbc news for a year and a half the 24-year-old was repeatedly and systemically bullied by his own teammates. amid investigations by the nfl and players association the dolphins late on sunday suspended one of martin's teammates, richie incognito, for conduct detrimental to the team. >> i'm not going to get into specifics of what it was, but i had enough information to make a good decision. that's what i did. >> reporter: espn say he phoned martin in april and left a hate-filled highly offensive message. what made all of this public? martin said last week he sat down in the team dining room. as he sat down at the table, a group of the teammates stood up

and walked away. for martin, a source tells nbc news, it was one mental abuse too many. >> it doesn't matter if you are 300 pounds or 150 pounds. if you are repetitively taunted, teased, and harassed by members on the team, you're going to have an anxious response. >> reporter: among the alleged pressures foisted on young players like martin, picking up huge tabs for extravagant outings like this $30,000 dinner. defensive tackle jared odrick tweeted, everything tastes better when rookies pay for it. today, despite efforts by nbc news to contact incognito, he made no comment. but he did delete several tweets last night including, i want my name cleared. football, where they are now investigating if some miami dolphins players stepped out of bounds. kerry sanders, nbc news, miami. still ahead for us tonight, taking a dive. a wild mid-air crash caught on camera. two planes collide in the sky.

tonight our first look at how everyone on board survived a jaw dropping jump to safety.

there was a chance we would be coming on the air tonight reporting the deaths of all 11 souls on board two aircraft that collided in midair this weekend. but instead all on board survived thanks in large part to the fact that they were all sky divers and were prepared to jump and knew how. and many of them were recording video of the moment and their safe return to earth. nbc's anne thompson has our exclusive look tonight. >> reporter: the last jump of the day for nine sky divers and two pilots nearly became the last flight of their lives. two planes and people out of control over wisconsin saturday evening. one plane breaking up in fiery debris. what looks to be certain disaster miraculously was not.

watch again from a different angle and you can see what happened. in this video licensed by nbc news you see the divers in the second plane get out on the step preparing to jump. that plane appears to fly right on top of the first plane. there is a fireball and now divers from both planes, instead of flying in a planned formation find themselves in a terrifying plummet. not only are they falling from 12,000 feet at 125 miles per hour, so are the burning parts of the first plane. all the divers opened their chutes and land safely. the pilot of the first plane gets out alive, too, using his emergency parachute. then there's this. >> come on, blake. you've got it. come on. >> reporter: blake whedon lands the second plane at the airport though there is damage to the propellor and the wing. the jumpers and the pilots, all veterans of the sky, know how close they came. >> very, very lucky. any time two planes collide in

the air, it's a potential disaster for everybody involved. so we were all very, very lucky here. >> reporter: after pursuing thrills in the air tonight for these 11 lucky people the greatest thrill is just being alive. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. >> what an incredible turn of events. we wanted to let you know tomorrow morning on "today" the sky divers and pilots will join matt lauer with more of the video of their day in the air and safe return to earth. we are back in a moment with an incredible find behind a wall in a man's apartment now making headlines around the world.

michelle knight one of the three women held prisoner in that house in cleveland, ohio, has granted her first one-on-one television interview to tv host dr. phil. while grisly details have come out in some of the excerpts, in this exchange she talks about what kept her strong, how she

made it through 11 years of captivity. >> was there a time you thought you would rather just die? >> yes. but that would be taking the easy way out. and i want my son to know me as a victor, not a victim. and i wanted him to know that i survived loving him, his love got me through. >> could you see his face clearly in your mind? >> yeah. >> could you hear his little voice? >> saying, mommy, please don't do it. i need you. >> that's very brave, michelle. >> the interview airs on the show this week. a major motion picture is coming out in a few months about the massive effort to find all the fine art that the nazis stole during world war ii, and another new chapter in the story is being written just this week

with news of a discovery in a munich apartment building hidden behind the wall in an apartment of an elderly man. 1500 works of art by picasso, renoir, matisse, and many others. german authorities have yet to identify or release photos of the giant collection of paintings. call it christmas creep, but so much for the old custom of holding off on all those crists that sales until the day after thanksgiving or maybe even thanksgiving night. kmart has announced it's game on thanksgiving morning at 6:00 a.m. they won't close until 11:00 at night the next day -- so-called black friday. saturday was bonfire night at the soccer stadium in serbia. two rival teams. another high-scoring soccer game that ended with the score 1-0. and the fans went wild. hard to tell if it was the winning side or the losers or where the security guards were, but they lit bonfires in the stands, found fuel somewhere and they burned for a long time, caused a lot of damage before

they were put out. when we come back, an extraordinary woman's newest inspiration.

our final story tonight

picks up right where we left off here on friday night. on the eve of new york marathon weekend, we aired the story of an inspiring woman. the fastest in her sport looking to do what no one before her ever has. we are happy to report this weekend she accomplished her goal in the new york city marathon. we get an update on her story from nbc's kate snow. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: this was the record-breaking moment yesterday. tatiana mcfadden's new york win marks the first time any athlete has won four major marathons in one single year. >> having the support from new york, people were cheering my name. they knew who i was. >> reporter: that's so cool. >> that really just kept me going. >> reporter: kids wanted to see the medal, the mayor posed with her. but this is the photo that says it all. a kiss from her mother debbie who adopted tatiana as a frail 6-year-old with spina bifida

from the orphanage. tatiana said it was one of her toughest races. >> i could barely pack my clothes. i felt old and tired. >> reporter: but this college senior will have to recover quickly. >> take a week off and continue to train a little bit and graduate. then i'm on to skiing. >> reporter: yes, skiing. she's hoping to return to her birthplace for the winter games in sochi, russia. >> i have the power and endurance. i'm already a step ahead. >> reporter: you have to figure out the skiing. >> the technique. i have to stop looking at the snow and just look up a little bit. >> reporter: last year russia banned adoptions by americans. tatiana hopes competing in sochi will allow her to prove a point. >> i wouldn't be graduating from college, wouldn't be an athlete, winning the major marathon series. i wouldn't have the opportunities i have if i wasn't adopted by a loving american family. >> reporter: but before she can go to russia, she has to get back to the university of

illinois to study for a midterm. >> bye. thank you, guys! >> reporter: kate snow, nbc news, new york. great story to end on on this monday night as we start off a new week. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. and of course we hope to see you right back here tomorrow evening. good night. good evening, on this monday. thanks for joining us. i'm raj mathai. >> i'm jessica aguirre. we begin with the biggest vegas-style casino ever built in california and it opens tomorrow in the bay area. >> it's a huge job and revenue generator. it also could mean a huge traffic mess. new at 6:00, business and tech reporter scott budman was one of the first to get inside the casino and resort. this will impact a lot of people even if they're not going to the casino. >> the casino is advertising all over the bay area because it expects to see customers from all over bay area.

here an early peek inside the bay area's latest job creator and why some are worried about how many people will come to gamble. they're serving drinks. >> welcome, everyone. >> reporter: giving tours. and cooking meals even before the casino opens for business. everybody is already busy here. especially the dealers. >> i do think it's going to boost the local economy. >> reporter: and boost is right. half a billion dollars in revenue is expected to pour into the casino every year. thanks to games boasting the latest high-tech touches. >> when i think about technology, i've got 3,000 slot machi machines, 44 table games all networked and a house complement of systems that talk to one another. so this is a large computer laboratory to a degree. >> reporter: and restaurants serving people expected to come from miles away. and to